hello, i'm j.c. hayward, guardian angels, are stepping up their patrols at metro stops after incidents of violence. with the latest attack occurring at the suitland metro

station. our surae chinn was there and she has a report on the brutal assault. >> reporter: the guardian angels are increasing patrols from one to four times a week. and speaking with metro riders, they say they feel safer when they see them. >> peace and calm. >> i'm really excited about it because we really, really need it in this area. >> reporter: the d. c. chapter called in reinforcements from out of state. michael is a 22 year veteran of the guardian angels of chicago and drove through the night to help out. >> to be a visible crime deterrent, which is why we wear the t-shirts and if we need to, make citizens arrests. >> does it work? >> no question. >> reporter: the stepped up patrols are in response to increased violence and after 341-year-old good samaritan robert joy was beaten up losing his front teeth. >> i got stitches in my upper lip, inside and out. >> i thought it was outrageous. >> sad, sad, for no reason. >> reporter: he was only calling police after seeing a

teen attacked by an angry mob. when that group turned on him. >> the wolf packs with the kids are out of control. >> reporter: volunteer organization that carries no weapons, arm themselves with flyers on safety and the need be, they break up a fight using self-defense methods. the guardian angels will move to reach out to the young people and send a positive message and hopefully recruit some of them on their team. in suitland, maryland, surae chinn, 9news now. >> it is not just metro passengers being targeted. drivers are fearing for their safety and many of them are going to work armed. this is a story you'll only see on 9news now. the bus operators' union says there have been 59 passenger attacks on bus drivers, 135 attempted assaults and 140 threats to bus operators over the last 12 months. some parts of the district have become particularly dangerous.

>> they just came on the bus and said we gonna kill you. so -- >> how many times did they stab you? >> four times. >> there are operators that arm themselves. because of the fact they can't get the protection they need from the agency that employs them. >> reporter: the union said protective shields like this one could go a long way in protecting bus operators. a report on the attacks on metro bus drivers will be presented to the full metro board later this month. a 4-year-old boy is fighting for his life following a fire in northeast washington. the flames broke out in an apartment building on benning road near 19th street northeast last night. firefighters rescued the child from a first floor apartment. a 24-year-old woman was also injured. she suffered burns on her hands. the let cross is assisting 19 people -- red cross is

assisting 19 people this afternoon because of that fire. an investigation is underway into alleged hazing as a university of maryland sorority. the victim says she was fledging zeta phi beta when she was taken to homes in prince georges county and assaulted. according to the documents, the victim says that she was punched, she was thrown around a room, and she was choked. she withdrew from the sorority. the university's newspaper said the sorority was suspended indefinitely after the allegations became public. motorists are being advised to avoid parts of edsall road in alexandria because of a water main break between van dorn street and south picket street. alexandria police are directing traffic around that problem. officials say they don't have an exact time frame when the repairs will be complete, but this could be an all day

operation they warn. einstein high school in wheatton was evacuated today because of an electrical fire. flames were reported on the second floor of the school on newport mill road just after 9:00 this morning. fire officials say an adult male in his 20s was transported to a nearby hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. a couple of students were also treated for minor injuries. the electrical problem was isolated and classes have resumed. there will be a vigil tomorrow night for haja seymore- wilson. she was the woman killed in a crash early tuesday inside the third street tunnel. according to police, she was driving in the tunnel when she rear ended a stopped public works truck. she died at the scene. she lived in the district and she worked at a credit union following her graduation last year from bowie state university. her mother says her daughter

was dedicate ed to her family. >> my daughter -- she love her family. she liked to you know, help the family. and she loved the family. >> police are still trying to determine exactly what caused the that accident. well, in politics, newt gingrich is expected to announce today he is forming a presidential exploratory committee. the former house speaker would be the first of many big name republicans expected to challenge president barack obama in 2012. his announcement is expected to be made later today in atlanta. the attention to germany now where prosecutors say the attack on a bus load of u.s. airmen appeared to have been motivated by islamic extremists. two american service members shot to death at the frankfurt airport yesterday and two

others were wounded. a top security official says the suspect has confessed to targeting the u.s. military. now officials say that the investigation indicate that is the gunman acted alone and did not belong to a terrorist network or a terrorist cell. his family says the suspect was a devout muslim. now we have the latest information on the unrest in libya. rebels are calling on foreign governments to conduct air strikes on mercenaries fighting for muammar gadhafi. randall pinkston has more. >> reporter: rebels shout god is great as they fight government forces in the desert. opposition forces have been under attack by government war planes. as both sides battle for control of hamas i oil shipment -- a massive oil shipment facility in libya. >> very big. >> reporter: the rebels are claiming control of the town, but the victory was costly.

at least a dozen people were killed and just as many were injured. this man says mercenaries from africa are attacking us with rockets and missiles. the rebels are urging the united nations to establish a no-fly zone over libya to stop the war planes from bombing his own people. but the u. n. and western nations are reluctant to go that far. they say a no-fly zone can't be establish without first establishing a zone. >> reporter: there is a great deal of caution which is being exercised in respect to any action, we might take. >> reporter: gadhafi is warning western nations to stay out. he's threatening to arm three million citizens and turn libya into another vietnam. saying any foreign troops will drown in blood. randall pinkston, cbs news at the united nations. >> meanwhile the chaos in libya continues to drive up oil

prices to their highest levels in two years, above $100 a barrel. still ahead on 9news now at noon, they're supposed to stay on top of the water. members of a virginia crew team talk about their unexpected trip into the potomac river. plus, it is an ultimate washington experience. we're talking about the cherry blossoms. when we come back, we will have a peak bloom prediction. stay with us.

maryland lawmakers will take up a proposal today to add a 10-cent a drink tax to alcohol. it has the backing of health care groups in several local county executives. however, many restaurants and bar owners are opposed to it. members of the mclean high school crew team are back on dry land after an unwelcome plunge into the potomac river. one of the rowers spoke with 9news now about what happened. >> it seemed like a bit choppy and then everything -- once we got down past i think the 14th street bridge, we just started taking on water from the waves. a little bit windy. and then we just ended up sinking. >> some of the students were rescued by fire boats and others just swam to shore. the varsity coach says he took the team out because the water was smooth near the dock. it wasn't until they hit the 14th street bridge that things

got choppy. all of the students are okay. experts are out with their peak predictions for this year's cherry blossoms. the trees around the tidal basin are expected to reach full bloom between march 29th and april 3rd. 100 of the original trees that were a gift from japan in 1912 are still standing. >> basically what this means is you're going to open a festival with cherries and they're probably going to bloom in the middle of the festival and if the winds and the rain hang on, you might have until the end. keep in mind that 2008, they lasted 17 days. last year, they only lasted 10. >> the cherry blossom festival runs from march 26th until april 10th. and for the first time ever, there will be a $5 fee for the japanese street fair. but most of the events are free. coming up next, howard and his forecast. >> j. c., some kind of cold out here. still in the 30s, the sun,

well, it's deceptively cool because of that. one good thing this has blocked down some of the allergens. grasses and weeds and mold is low. a warming trend and some rain on the way as well when we return.

money, money, money, money, we're trying to give money away from state and city treasuries, $2 billion to be specific. money that is yours but may not know about it. it comes from forgotten bank accounts, stock funds, a whole host of places. so here is a list of people who have cash to claim. all right, we're going to start with virginia and then maryland -- you have money coming to you. and the district of columbia --

if you want to find out if you have money coming to you, go to our website, wusa9.com, and you can learn how you can apply for your money. plus, if you didn't hear your name called, you can find the list by going to our website. this is the one location to find out if you are owed money any place in the country. years ago, i found about $400 in some bonds that mom and dad had purchased and didn't even know about it. >> is that so? go to the website and see if our name is there. it's not just here in washington in the metropolitan area, but in the place in the country. i need to check. >> you never know. >> how are you doing? >> i'm well, i'm well. it is cold out there. >> temperature dropped. >> significantly. we hit 64 yesterday. today, we'll be lucky to get

into the low 40s. some 20, 25 degrees colder than it was in some spots yesterday afternoon. at least it's going to be sunny. the temperatures coming up to the mid 30s here next hour. 40ish by three and top off 41, 42 and hold on to the 40 by action. but thankfully -- by 5:00. but thankfully a light east wind by then. partly in not mostly cloudy. the clouds are going to help. because without the clouds, we'd be really cold. boy, temperatures drop. but it's like winter today. but the highs about 10 degrees below average. still chilly on friday. highs tomorrow about 50 or so. over the weekend, we warm up into the 50s and we get some milder temperatures to return. but the price to pay for that? increasing rain chances are moving this way. satellite and radar, nothing to show you here except we've got hospitals and lots of sunshine at this noon hour. a couple of clouds in west virginia, other than that, temperatures in the low 30s

north approaching 40 down south. tappahannock by the bay, a cold wind blowing off the water there. 32 baltimore. it's 33 in winchester. in and around the metro, mid 30s for fairfax, warm spots, springfield right now is 38 degrees. well it's 38 for gaithersburg and to the east, andrews air force base also only 34. officially, national's made it to 35 with mostly sunny skies. a windchill making it feel like 30 and look at the dew point? 4, that's a sign of the arctic air mass albeit it's march. and you can see everything moving kind of west to east across the country. snow in wisconsin and michigan here for some snow to fall. but other than that, it is really quiet and the next storm we're going to watch is all the moisture build out to the west. clouds move in tonight and tomorrow morning. we stay dry. but tomorrow night, a couple of

showers north and west by saturday morning and then saturday the rains really pick up in the ohio andton deny valley. that -- and tennessee valley. that moves in late saturday and saturday and sunday could be kind of wet around here. the temperatures today only in the low 40s, cold and chilly tonight. for saturday, a few showers and milder 55 and then sunday, many periods of rain. temperatures in the upper 50s and we'll dry out as we head to early next week. it is thursday at noon. that means it's time for petline 9. dana matalin joins me today from the animal welfare league of arlington. i knew i was going to get that just right and this is jesse. >> she's a sad story. she was adopted from our shelter in 1999 when she was a puppy and her owner recently had to go into assisted living. so she brought her back to the shelter because none of her family could take her. she's been with her family her entire life. and we would really like to

find her a good stable home for her to spend her happy years. >> sweet dog and she loves -- >> great dog. >> loves the -- behind the neck to be rubbed. >> she's about 12. and because of potential separation anxiety, we would recommend she go to a quiet home without young children and with someone who can spend a lot of time with her. >> if you don't mind taking a walk with a nice sweet dog, how can people call you folks? >> we're in arlington on 2650 south arlington drive and open every day but tuesday and our website is www.warl.org. >> click on the link to the petline areas on wusa9.com and we've got all the shelter information there. stick around, more 9news now at noon in the kitchen when we return. good girl jesse.

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days-- i can do that. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me. we had an outpouring of-- of support. i wanted to do something bigger than myself. the 60 miles-- it makes a statement. i know i'm stronger than i was before, both mentally and physically.

i walk with my sister. our relationship has gone to a whole new level because of training together. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. i knew that there was something really special about this event. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. it was three days of hope. of love. of empowerment. it was three days the way the world should be. here i am, second year in a row, and i'm already signed up for next year's. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. the fairfax embassy row in northwest washington is celebrating wines from all over the country and it's part of really the capital wine festival and we have lucinda anderson hughes, who is the frugal socialite with us to talk about this. this is very, very special. this is the second year. >> second year. this is a very different wine festival from the ones where you typically get a glass of wine, schlep around and go talk to a lot of people. this is very intimate, up close and personal and a beautiful setting at the massachusetts avenue northwest d. c. at the

embassy row. >> this has been going on since january? >> yes, actually, january kicked off the series of wine dinners and these are two of the vineyards who've already presented dinners. last night i had the pleasure of attending the dinner with ponzi vineyards, which is known for their pinot noir. ponzi is out of oregon, a hip up and coming wine area. female owned. just a delightful dinner. so at the dinners you actually are sitting amongst the wine makers. they tell you about how they prepare their wines and the history behind their vineyards. really great evening. >> all right now, next wednesday, there will be the next one. >> yes. >> and you have brought some plates to show us. what did you bring? >> chef mark sims is the newest hit at the fair tax and he has prepare -- fairfax and he has prepared a few sample dishes. so right here we have a beet salad with a goat cheese

mousse, nice twist on the goat cheese, a halibut surrounded by parsnip sauce and a beef short rib atop potato au greaten and an au jus. it's wonderful and it pairs with each wine you will have at the wine dinner. >> and i have to ask you, what is frugal since you are the frugal social it? at the fairfax at embassy row? >> you know i can find some luxury on budget, right j. c.? so the fairfax at the embassy row is a luxury collection in the united states and elsewhere. but starting this week, there is a $5 happy hour menu. every night, monday through thursday, i should say, $5, you can get lamb, a lamb burger, you can get an upgraded corn dog. gourmet-style. and great martinis. >> for $5? >> $5. >> you have to pay 5 dollars. >> yes, $5.

>> we have the chef here, chef, thank you for coming and bringing the beautiful dishes and we'll come visit you. the fairfax at embassy row, massachusetts avenue, northwest washington, d.c. and every wednesday it's specials. thank you for being with us. >> thank you j. c.. >> come back and visit us at 5:00. mmm. and look at all the lovely wines. [ captions by: caption colorado, llc 800-775-7838 email: comments@captioncolorado.com ]

never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles compared to what a cancer patient goes through is a walk in the park. from the moment i registered, people started immediately supporting me and asking me how they could help. you meet the most wonderful, inspiring people. when you accomplish those 60 miles, it's truly life-changing. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.